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Thread: Profitbility

  1. #1

    Profitbility

    Hi Guys, looking into starting a web hosting company, is it difficult to be profitable in this business?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    44
    no not really.. im having a smal profit all ready... and i just started it also.. i host 3 sites now and i get my bill`s payed..

    i will get some help from a marketing dude that will help me out get much more clients..

    Just remember don`t buy a HUGE server in the start try something small and ask if you can upgrade later on.. that is the best deal..

  3. #3
    There are a lot of information on WHT on this topic. Do a search and you will come down to these few things to stay profitable in this business

    (1) Offer something (Service or Products) that others have not
    (2) Work Hard
    (3) Read Forums Hard and Learn

    Webhosting is not an overnight profit business. It takes time, investment and determination.

    Good Luck and read a lot. I mean A LOT. Without reading you don't even know what the term webhosting means .

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    44
    hehe sorry..

    but what does it meen ?

  5. #5
    It is not hard to be profitable if you don't sell $2 hosting. Have some integrity, and believe in what you sell. Don't sell yourself short. When I started out, I got a small reseller plan, and my first client covered the costs (plus $5 profit for my McChicken ) and then I slowly grew.

    My personal opinion - do not try to beat every price, and don't sell $2 hosting if you want to be in this business for long.

    Just my 2 cents. Thanks, and good luck!
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    44
    hi VanHost could you take a look at my packages
    www.perfecthost.ws

    im new like you said and my first client covers the whole bill to and takes about half of the server , but do you think i could rise the prices on the plans and still get other people to sign up ??



    What do you think ?

  7. #7
    First of all, it is not for me to say whether your prices are "good" or not. I don't know who you are marketing to, or what you are wanting from your company.

    My personal opinion, based solely on prices/resources currently listed, is to do 1 of 2 things:

    1) Lower the resources you offer for each package and keep the price the same
    2) Raise the price and keep the resources the same.

    Also, I would evaluate your Platinum package again.

    Just one man's opinion. Good luck!
    SuperWebHost.com, a Digitally Justified Company
    Celebrating our 9th year in Business

    Proudly Hosting with CANADIAN bandwidth
    Managed Hosting, Multi-Domain Hosting, Colocation, Merchant Accounts

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    44
    okey.. cool thanks for the feedback

  9. #9
    hehe whats the deal www.idologic.com has the same design

  10. #10
    I believe it's our "Monster,Template" friend!
    SuperWebHost.com, a Digitally Justified Company
    Celebrating our 9th year in Business

    Proudly Hosting with CANADIAN bandwidth
    Managed Hosting, Multi-Domain Hosting, Colocation, Merchant Accounts

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    2,124
    Originally posted by idoubleL
    hehe whats the deal www.idologic.com has the same design
    Vanhost is correct.
    www.idologic.com - Reseller, VPS and dedicated hosting - Friendly Customer Service - DirectAdmin - cPanel - InterWorx

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    55
    My opinion is your cost will drop substantially if your host allows you to oversell storage and bandwidth. It's not difficult to get breakeven.

    when you have more and more clients come, you'll know how nice it is since you'll found that you still don't have to upgrade your plan with your host.

    good luck

  13. #13
    Originally posted by perfecth
    hi VanHost could you take a look at my packages
    www.perfecthost.ws

    Perfecth,

    I was just on your website and visited the Domains link from the bottom of your page (http://www.perfecthost.ws/domains.html). You may want to take a look at this page and modify it to something other than the default text that comes with the template.


    - Rikki

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    50
    Hi,

    I have doing domain and hosting business for almost four years. I lost money for the first three years. But I start to get a small profit from May this year.

    I must say my marketing strategy for the first three years is completely wrong. For the first three years, I use high price reseller plan (300MB Space, USD480.00 per years). As you can see, this reseller server can host about 25 domains, each with 10MB space, selling at USD25.00 per year. This reseller plan has no any control panel at all! The result was that I only get a few hosting customers for the first three years!

    Why I choose to use high price reseller plan? Because, I don't want to be complaint by my customers. I was too afraid that the server will get down too often.

    Being disappointed. I tried to use medium price cPanel reseller plan from Nov, 2002. Since I have a lot of domain customers accumulated in the first three years, I promote the new plans to them. To my surprise, the reseller plans were all sold out within two months. However the profit is very small, not enough to cover support fee and overhead expenses. I am thinking to raise the price then, but the competition in my local area is really very keen. To raise the price almost mean to kill the hosting business.

    In order to survive, I tried and purchase low price cPanel Reseller Plans from three hosting companies a few months ago. To my surprise, two of the low price Reseller Plans are really good - good performance, good support and good prices. I start to get a small profit from May this year. However, if calculate from the beginning, I still lose money.

    My advise on Hosting business:
    * must be very hard working
    * learn related new things every day
    * prepare website yourself to reduce cost.
    * don't expect to get big money
    * honesty
    * be patience to your client
    * devote your time in support and website maintenance
    * thinking how to improve your website and support all the time.

    Cheers!

    -------------
    ex5316

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Kuwait
    Posts
    5,104
    Originally posted by perfecth
    hi VanHost could you take a look at my packages
    www.perfecthost.ws

    [ snipped ]

    What do you think ?
    I'm not commenting on your plans, but your site need some serious proofreading.

    We provide you with the best online support hosting providers give today you can recieve support contacting our support team throw advanced ticket system, ICQ or email. Professional support team will be glad to help you with any questions.
    I don't see the point of the music. Not everything needs music.

    Just my $0.02

  16. #16
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Sunny California
    Posts
    1,679
    Originally posted by idologic_dh
    Vanhost is correct.
    Rule #2: If you're going to use a template for your site, spend the bit of extra money and buy it out. (Or just don't use a template!)
    Erica Douglass, Founder, Simpli Hosting, Inc.
    »»» I founded Simpli Hosting, and sold it in 2007 to Silicon Valley Web Hosting after over 6 years in the business.
    Now I'm blogging at erica.biz!

  17. #17
    Profitability.. well this topic has been discussed to the grounds. But generally, I think most people miss a few things:

    1. Opportunity cost
    2. Profits to grow and make it a viable business
    3. Your own salary for the time spent.
    4. Software costs
    5. Startup investment

    Do a proper business plan, and see if it makes sense.
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  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
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    Originally posted by sprintserve
    . . . Do a proper business plan, and see if it makes sense.
    Rarely does anyone stick to a business plan, throughout the development of their business. It's just a map that you want to take. You've never travelled that path before. You don't know what obstacles and challenges lie ahead. Real life and circumstances often take you in different directions, to that which you so cleverly and meticulously planned.

    I never had a business plan. I saw a possible opportunity and took small steps towards where we are now. Although I did have a 6ft x 6ft whiteboard full of notes, that served for good brainstorming sessions.

    Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  19. #19
    Business plans is a guide no doubt, at the same time, it helps you crystallise your plans. The most commonly mistaken perception is that a business plan is to be done and left on the shelf. That's of course a fruitless exercise then.

    It's true that a lot of the assumptions and such won't be correct. However you can update as you go along to make it more relevant and more robust.

    Naturally, it's also possible to make it big without a business plan. but for those that's not sure on where to go, I recommend it as a way to make have a good look at some figures and see where things stand.
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  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
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    Liverpool, England, UK.
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    Re: Profitbility

    Originally posted by qweqwe
    Hi Guys, looking into starting a web hosting company, is it difficult to be profitable in this business?
    It can be difficult at first, especially with these $2 unlimited this unlimited that hosts that attract people because of their very good pricing. Its not really worth worrying about undercutting every other host on the market, just make sure, like others have said, that the few hosting clients you gain to start with, you keep very very happy. A good reputation will possibly not win you first time clients who are looking for the best price, but it will certainly win you clients who have been let down by other companies.

    One thing to make sure is to get a reliable server/re-seller package, as the more reliable it is the less problems you will have and your customers will have less complaints.

    As for it being profitable, the core web hosting side of my business makes very little because we are forced to price very low due to very good competition from our local (and i must add friendly too) rival's. However luckily for me the Shoutcast part of the company has always made a lot of money so we can fall back onto that if needed.

    To start with, i would say get a decent, low priced re-seller plan and see how you do with that. If it fails, all is not lost because after two or three months you have only lost $40 - 80 (and got your own hosting included too hehe) but if it works well then you will eventually move on to getting a dedicated server etc... Its just natural progression.

    Anyway, if you decide to enter the business, good luck and if you ever need advice about anything post away here on WHT

    Regards,
    Matty
    Xcellweb.net - Quality Web Solutions That Work!
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